


Serotonin

by Omnicyde



Series: Chemicals [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Post-Save Arcadia Bay Ending, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27812182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnicyde/pseuds/Omnicyde
Summary: It's happening again.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Victoria Chase
Series: Chemicals [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775956
Comments: 68
Kudos: 178





	1. Altschmerz

**Monday**

“Everything is going to be okay.”

There was no reaction to Victoria’s statement. And despite the number of times she’d repeated it, there hadn’t been for over an hour. She was laying beside Max, her wife in her arms, squeezing tightly as the brunette shook in bed beside her. Max hadn’t spoken since they’d left Kate’s neighborhood.

Her wife continued to clutch at her arms like a security blanket, as she trembled while staring at the wall. “Please just breathe,” Victoria whispered in her ear. “Listen to me, and just breathe, Max.”

Nothing. The brunette didn’t make a sound.

“Everything is going to be okay.”

“No. It’s not.”

Victoria clutched Max tighter, as her wife finally spoke. “It’s not going to be okay,” Max whispered. “Nothing is going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know what’s going to happen.”

“You don’t know that it’s going to happen this time.”

“It did the other two times.”

Victoria’s mind raced, as she tried to think of a way to soothe her wife. “Maybe Alice didn’t die when the truck hit her,” she offered. “Kids survive getting hit by cars all the time.”

“She didn’t.” Max sniffed, wiping her nose. “She couldn’t have.”

“Maybe she did. You said you rewound really fast.”

“You didn’t see what I saw.” She shivered. “I saw that car run her over. I saw her… the tire went right over her, and just-”

“Don’t.” Victoria grabbed for Max’s hand. “Don’t think about it.”

“I can’t not think about it.”

“Hey. Listen to me.” Victoria squeezed Max’s hand. “You don’t know if anything is going to happen. Okay? Maybe it will, but there’s no use panicking until you know for sure.”

Max drew a slow breath. “It’s going to snow tonight, just before the sun goes down.”

“It’s January. In Seattle. It might snow tonight anyway.”

Her wife was still, for a few seconds, before turning towards the black cylinder on their dresser. “Alexa?” she called, and the Echo came to life, casting a faint blue light against the wall. “Is it going to snow tonight?”

“ _Unlikely,_ ” Alexa replied. “ _No snow is forecast until next Tuesday, with light flurries coming down from-_ ”

“Alexa, off,” Victoria ordered. The Echo immediately stopped talking. “Weathermen are wrong all the time, Max. Please don’t-”

“It’s going to snow tonight. And tomorrow, there’s going to be a solar eclipse.” Max’s trembling got worse. “On Wednesday, they’re going to find dead whales on the beaches. Thursday night, there will be two moons in the sky. And on Friday…”

“No. Stop,” Victoria ordered her. “You don’t know any of that for sure.”

“Yes. I do.”

“Just because it’s happened before doesn’t mean it’ll happen again.”

Max bit her lip. “… is it snowing?”

Victoria glanced over her shoulder, towards the window. “No.”

“What time is it?”

“Little after three.” Victoria put her head back down, nestling in closer to Max. “Please, Max, just… let’s just calm down, and take a few deep breaths, okay? We don’t have a reason to worry yet.”

“But-”

“You said just before sundown, right? That’s when it happens?”

Max nodded.

Victoria let go of Max’s hand, reaching into her pocket and retrieving her cell phone before tapping on the screen. “Google says sundown is at four-thirty-seven,” she informed her. “It’s pretty close as it is, and there’s no snow. Please, Max, let’s wait and see if snow even happens before we start worrying. Okay?”

The brunette was silent for several seconds, before she slowly nodded. “… okay,” she breathed. “We’ll just… wait and see.”

“Exactly. We’re going to wait and see.” Victoria sighed in relief. “Will you eat something? Please? You haven’t had anything since breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Just a sandwich, Max. Will you just eat a sandwich? For me?”

“… fine.”

* * *

It took a few minutes to get the turkey-and-cheese sandwich together. By then, Max had left the bedroom and gone to her office. When Victoria walked in, her wife was in her chair next to the window. The brunette stared through the glass morosely, watching the sky with her phone in hand.

“Here you go.” Victoria put the plate down on the desk. “You want any chips?”

“No.”

“What about a soda?”

“I’m fine.”

Victoria knew she wasn’t. But she didn’t argue. She just sat on the desk beside Max and joined her in looking out the window silently. After several minutes, Max picked up the sandwich and took a small bite, her eyes not leaving the window.

“You said four-thirty-seven?”

“That’s right.”

She checked her phone. “An hour and fifteen minutes to go.”

Victoria hummed. “It was right before sundown, when it snowed?”

Max nodded.

“How long did it last?”

“Only a few minutes.” Max shrugged. “But it was pretty warm back in Arcadia Bay. Maybe it’ll last longer here.”

“Okay.” Victoria inhaled slowly. “How did it happen, exactly? What were you doing?”

Max looked at her, trying to remember exactly what had happened that day. “It was… right after I’d met Chloe again,” Max recalled. “We’d just snuck out of her parent’s house, and she’d driven us to the lighthouse. We were talking about Rachel Amber, and her stepfather, and then Chloe told me about Nathan trying to drug her.”

Victoria squirmed uncomfortably but kept listening.

“She was saying something about wiping out Arcadia Bay. I think the phrase she used was about dropping a bomb and turning it into glass.” Max paused. “I don’t know if that was the trigger, but right after she said that, I got a major headache and had some kind of… vision.”

“Of what?”

“The storm.” Max shivered. “A huge tornado. The biggest I’ve ever seen. Bearing down right on Arcadia Bay, wiping the entire town off the face of the earth. And the newspaper I saw showed that it was going to happen that Friday.”

“… oh my God.”

“Yea.” Max nodded. “Then I woke up with Chloe’s hand on my shoulder, and I was panicking, so I told her everything. Me reversing time, and seeing her die while I was in class. She didn’t believe me, of course, and… that was when it started to snow.”

Victoria nodded slowly. “Have you had any visions today?”

“No.”

“Then it sounds like it’s not going to-”

“But I didn’t have any the second time, either,” Max told her. “When I called the cops about the other guy, from the bar fight. So I don’t know if that’s a thing.”

“Jesus, Max.” Victoria rubbed her face. “It keeps coming back to this. You don’t know enough about this to freak out yet.”

“Victoria-”

“I mean, even if it DOES snow, so what?” Victoria waved her arm at the window. “It’s January, and it’s in the thirties right now. It might snow regardless.”

“There’s no snow in the forecast!”

“And how often is the weatherman wrong?!” Victoria took a deep breath. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I’m still just saying that you don’t know anything yet. And you need to stop freaking out about this.”

“I almost killed thousands of people last time I rewound to save someone’s life,” Max reminded her. “I am going to freak out as much as I want.”

“That’s not…” Victoria voice trailed off. Max looked at her and saw that the blonde’s gaze was focused on the window. She spun her head around quickly.

Snow. The lightest of flurries. But definite snow, falling gently from the grey sky.

Max’s breathing began to quicken. “… oh, God,” she gasped. “Oh, G-”

“No. NO.” Victoria grabbed Max’s shoulders. “Look at me. Look me in the eye.”

“It’s- it’s starting to-”

“It could’ve happened anyway. There’s no reason to think-”

“It’s just like last time, it’s just like-”

“STOP!!”

Max froze as Victoria yelled in her face. The blonde continued. “This doesn’t mean anything,” she told her firmly. “I told you, it’s Seattle, and it’s in the thirties. This doesn’t mean that a storm is coming.”

“B-but-”

Victoria let go, standing up and walking towards the window. She threw the blinds shut before turning back to Max. “We’re not dealing with this now.”

“We have to-”

“No. No, we don’t. We don’t have to do anything.” Victoria pointed at the sandwich. “You’re going to finish eating. That, and the bag of chips I’m going to bring you. If, IF, there is an eclipse tomorrow? Then we’ll start to worry.”

“But-”

“No buts.” Victoria walked towards the desk and pushed the sandwich closer. “Eat your fucking sandwich. Before I cram it down your throat.”

* * *

_Maybe she’s right._

Max hadn’t stopped thinking about the snow. Despite Victoria closing all the curtains in the condo, and making her eat dinner, then making her to watch a show on Netflix they’d been meaning to catch up on. She hadn’t been able to concentrate all day.

Her wife had forced them to go to bed like normal, too. Max was curled up in Victoria’s arms, the blonde’s hand resting in its usual place beside her scar, as she stared at the wall and let her mind race. According to the clock on the nightstand beside her, it was just after one in the morning.

 _It could’ve meant to snow anyway._ Max tried to steady her breathing. _It is possible. Not like we haven’t had weird weather come out of nowhere before._

_After I saved someone’s life by rewinding time, though…_

_No. Victoria’s right. I’m not sure yet._ She breathed slowly out of her nostrils. _Much as I wish I was an expert, I’ve only ever done this twice. I might be completely wrong._

_Maybe Alice wasn’t really dead. It not like I got a great look._

Max glanced back at the alarm clock. Not a lot of time had passed. _Need to try and sleep. If something is going to happen, I should be well-rested to figure it out._

She closed her eyes, and willed her breathing to slow down. For as much as her mind had raced, she was tired after having been up all day. Eventually, she felt sleep begin to pull at her.

Before she felt the jerking from her diaphragm, and a rushing of wind in her ears. Her eyes popped open, but she wasn’t in her bedroom anymore; she was flying through space, unable to see anything. It only lasted for a couple of seconds before she jerked to a stop. In a seated position, at a table, still wearing her t-shirt and sweatpants.

“Wh- the fu…” her voice trailed off, as she looked around.

_Where the hell am I?_

It looked like an old-timey diner. The décor was dated, and the posters were peeling off the walls. Out the window beside her was a road, a view of the ocean just past it. The floor was white tile, with black checkered diamonds at all the corners. And as she looked over her right shoulder, an ancient jukebox sat against the wall.

She was slowly starting to realize how familiar it all was.

_Oh my God, this… is this the Two Whales?_

_Back in Arcadia Bay?_

_What am I doing at_ -

“Well, well, well.”

Her head spun back around to see that seat across from her was no longer empty. It was now occupied by someone with short brown hair, freckles, and a multitude of colored wristbands. Wearing a grey hoodie over a white wide-necked shirt with a black deer drawn on it, and a messenger bag over her shoulder.

Max’s mouth fell open as the girl who looked exactly like a younger version of her smiled widely.

“And here I thought we’d never see each other again.”


	2. Nodus Tollens

“What- where- how-” Max’s twin across from her stared at her, an amused look on her face as she floundered for words. She sputtered several more times as she gaped in shock.

“… who are you?” she finally managed to get out.

“Oh, that hurts my feelings.” The other girl leaned into the corner as she threw her legs up on the seat beside her, crossing them at the ankles. “I told you who I was last time. Don’t you remember? That was the first thing you asked, when we met all those years ago. Like I said; I’m you, dumbass.”

Max didn’t know how to answer, as she stared at her twin.

“Then again, I also said I might’ve been one of the many Maxes you’ve left behind. So I guess I was a little ambiguous.” She smirked. “Man, it’s good to see you again. I really didn’t think we’d have another chance to talk.”

“What are you?” Max whispered.

“Did you not hear me or something?”

“I mean- you’re not-”

“No, of course you weren’t paying attention. I’m here trying to talk, and you can’t even do me the common decency of listening.” Her twin rolled her eyes. “Christ. Good thing you can rewind, or you never would’ve managed to land a wife.”

“I-”

“Okay, try to keep up this time.” The other girl rapped her knuckles on the table between them, getting Max’s full attention. “I. Am. You.”

“No, you’re not.” Max felt her face getting hot. “I’m me.”

“Look, sweet cheeks, I don’t have the time or the inclination to get philosophical with you, so we’re gonna go ahead and skip this part.” Her twin waved her hand. “We don’t have long to spend together, so we’re gonna talk about something else.”

“… what?”

“You.” The girl pointed at her. “And how badly you’ve fucked up.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t even tell me you’ve forgotten already.” Her twin sighed. “Fine. Let’s all have a reminder, shall we? Drum roll, please.”

An unseen force pulled Max backwards, through her seat, and she wasn’t there anymore. She was standing on a sidewalk, the same one she’d been walking on as they’d left the park earlier that day.

“MY PIT’CHURES!!” Her head jerked around as Alice materialized in front of her, racing for her dropped photos. “NO!!”

She tried to run forward, but she couldn’t. Max was rooted to the ground, unable to move, as the little girl ran between the two parked cars. She couldn’t yell, couldn’t scream, couldn’t do anything as the massive pickup truck drove past her.

Her gut twisted as she watched the truck run over Alice again, the tire making a sickening _thump-thump_ noise.

In the blink of an eye she was thrown back into her diner seat, and let out an involuntary gasp as her hand instinctively shot up. “Are you caught up now?” the other Max asked lazily. “Or do you need another reminder?”

“NO!!”

“Good.”

“Who are you!?” Max demanded, her whole body shaking.

“Are you kidding me? How many times do I have to tell you-”

“I don’t want to fucking hear that you’re me!” Max snapped angrily. “Who are you?! Really?! And what the fuck am I doing here?!”

“… mm.” Her twin smirked, as she crossed her arms. “You’re finally growing some teeth.”

“Well?!”

“I guess if you really need a name…” she looked up in thought. “Know what? You hate Maxine. And I think shortening your name was stupid. So you can call me Maxine, if you must. What I am, though, is… hard to describe.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the answer is both really simple and really complicated at the same time. It might be a little much for you to understand.” Maxine shrugged. “What you SHOULD understand, though, is that despite what you think? I’m not the bad guy.”

“You sure as hell act like one.”

“Aww, because I say mean things that hurt your itty-bitty widdle feewings?” Maxine displayed a pout, for a second, before her face reverted back to normal. “Deal with it. You want words of comfort, go find your wife. I’m just here to tell you the painful truth.”

“Which is?”

“That there’s only one bad guy at this table.” She looked at Max pointedly. “And like I said, it isn’t me.”

Max felt her face flush in anger. “I am NOT a bad guy.”

“Not yet, maybe. But you will be.”

The sound of thunder cracked from outside the diner, a flash illuminating her twin’s face as the sky began to darken. Max looked outside to see angry black-and-grey clouds begin to form.

But it wasn’t Arcadia Bay anymore. And the diner wasn’t the Two Whales, either. Max found herself staring at a street just outside the restaurant where her and Victoria sometimes got breakfast, back in Seattle. The wind outside slowly started to howl, picking up debris and blowing it down the street.

“What a bummer.” She turned to see her twin now sitting upright in a chair; they had somehow moved to a table instead of a booth. “I like this city. The atmosphere, the food, the art…” Maxine looked out the window wistfully. “It’ll be a shame if it really does get destroyed.”

Max’s breathing quickened, as she looked between her twin and the window. “It’s not going to be,” she said. “I’m not gonna let it.”

“Oh, I know that,” Maxine looked back at her. “I’m actually one hundred percent sure that the storm isn’t coming to pass.”

“How?”

“Because I know you.” She rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t handle killing five thousand, four hundred and twenty-seven people in Arcadia Bay. And you live in Seattle now. I’m expected to believe that you can come to terms with killing almost three-quarters of a million? Please.”

Max’s heart fell into her stomach. “I won’t let that happen,” she said forcefully.

“I know. You don’t have it in you.”

“Fuck you.”

“Sorry, sweetheart, not interested.” Maxine cocked her head. “Of course, you know what that means, right?”

“What?”

“You’re driving the trolley again.” She held up a hand and pulled, like she was yanking on a trucker horn. “Choo choo.”

“… huh?”

“Oh, please, don’t tell me I have to spell it out for you.” Maxine sighed. “There’s only one way you can stop the storm. And you already know what it is.”

Her diaphragm was jerked again. With an eyeblink, she was back on the sidewalk. Watching Alice run after her pictures, just starting to dart between the two cars-

“NO!!”

She instantly reverted back to the diner, the storm starting to rage outside. Maxine had an indifferent look on her face. “Yea, driving this train really sucks,” she agreed. “Seriously, what the hell kind of maniac is running this railroad anyway?”

“I won’t do it.” Max swallowed, clenching her fists. “I’ll find a way to stop that storm. Without just letting someone die.”

Maxine sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. “Yea, I’ve heard that before.”

“I don’t care that-” Max froze, blinking. “… what did you just say?”

Her twin blinked, then straightened up in her seat while covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers. “Oopsie.”

“You’ve what?!” Max grabbed the edge of her table as she stood upright, trying to get closer to her twin. “You’ve heard that before?! What the fuck does that mean?! From who?!”

“Mmm…” Maxine’s nose scrunched, as she wiggled her lips back and forth in thought. “Nah. Sorry, sweet cheeks. You don’t get to know everything for free. Not without putting a little effort into it first.”

“Know- what do you-”

Thunder cracked outside the diner again, Louder, this time, clearly getting closer. “I think that’s our cue,” Maxine said as she leaned back in her seat. “We really appreciate you stopping by, Max, but I’m afraid we’re all out of time.”

“Who else have you talked to before?!”

“Nuh-uh. Not yet.” Maxine smirked. “I did do you a solid, though.”

“What?!”

“I know you’ll have trouble doing what you have to on your own. So I took care of the hard part for you.”

“Hard part? What hard part?”

“Guess what?” Maxine smiled widely. “Beep.”

“… huh?”

“Beep.”

“What the hell are you-”

“Beep, beep, beep, BEEP-”

* * *

_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP…_

Max jerked awake with a gasp, flailing in Victoria’s arms as the alarm clock beside her blared.

Victoria awoke as well with a yelp, Max’s sudden movement having shocked her awake. The brunette slammed her fist down on the clock, hitting the snooze button. The silence was only interrupted by her ragged breathing.

“Fucking alarm.” Victoria dragged a hand down her face. “We forgot to turn it-”

“The storm’s coming.”

She blinked as she looked up at Max, who stared at the wall while hyperventilating. “Hey, I told you that we weren’t going to-”

“I saw her.” Max swallowed. “She told me it was coming.”

“Saw… wait, saw who?”

“Me. Or… one of me.” Max hesitated, as she looked at her wife. “I… left something out when I told you what happened, during that week back in Arcadia Bay. Because I never knew what to make of it. But I had a dream where I encountered another version of… myself.”

“Another version of you?” Victoria sat up, quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”

“She looked like me. And sounded like me. But she wasn’t me.” Max took a breath. “She said she was one of the Maxes I left behind. But I was never really able to figure out what she meant.”

Victoria stared at her. “And… you saw her again?”

Max nodded. “She told me to call her Maxine.”

“You hate that name.”

“That was why she did it.” Max shivered. “And she said I’d fucked up again. That the storm was coming. And there was only one way to stop it.”

“… what?”

“I…” Max could barely make the words, as she clutched her hands. “I have to go back,” she whispered. “I have to let Alice die.”

“No.” Victoria’s answer was immediate. “No fucking chance.”

“It’s the only way.”

“The hell it is.” Victoria grabbed Max’s hand. “I don’t give a shit what this fucking wonder-twin of yours said. Alice dying cannot be the only way to stop the storm. There has to be another way.”

“I don’t know if there is.”

Victoria took a deep breath. “You know what? It doesn’t matter anyway. You can’t.”

“I-”

“You can only go back a few minutes.” Victoria glanced at the clock. “It’s been eighteen hours. We’re so far out of your window that it isn’t funny. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t. Unless you have another power you haven’t told me about?”

“… no.” Max shook her head. “I’ve got nothing.”

“Then that bitch can take a flying leap.”

Max sighed, as she averted her gaze. Then frowned. “… did you take my phone off the charger?”

“What? No.”

“Then why is it on the floor?”

Victoria peeked over Max’s shoulder to see her iPhone sitting on the bedroom floor, right next to the bed. “You must’ve knocked it over when you woke up.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t.” Max leaned down to retrieve it. As she picked it up, though, she stopped. “… do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Something in my office is beeping.”

She got up and left, Victoria following her. They opened her office door to hear a very obvious beeping noise was coming from the printer. It was an out-of-paper warning, and Victoria could see why; there was a massive stack of printed photos, so many that they had spilled onto the floor. And they were all the same picture.

It was the two of them, sitting at the picnic table the previous day. A smiling Alice sitting between them.

“What the hell?”

“… oh, no,” Max whispered. “I took that photo right before she…”

Victoria looked at her. “Do you print these?”

“No. I could never.” Max started to shake. “But… she could.”


	3. Occhiolism

**Tuesday**

“So… there were others. Before you.”

Max nodded, clutching her elbows tightly as she hugged herself. “That’s what she made it sound like.”

Victoria leaned back in her seat, as she played with her phone on the kitchen table between them. “… that makes a little sense,” she allowed. “Whatever this thing you have is, that you might not have been the first is… about right, I suppose.”

“I know. I never thought about it, but it must have happened before.”

“And how do we find out for sure?” Victoria waved her arm towards the phone. “I’ve never heard of anyone else doing anything like you can.”

“No, I’m sure they would’ve kept it a secret.” Max snorted, as she rubbed her eyes. “They wouldn’t have wanted to seem crazy.”

“Which is a shame, because we could really use some insight.” Victoria sighed. “And she said you didn’t get to know anything without putting in a little effort?”

“Yep.”

“Okay…” Victoria took a deep breath. “Where do we start? Just throw some posts out on Facebook, asking if anyone has a relative who claims to be able to rewind time?”

“I have no idea.”

“Wonderful.”

The brunette’s phone dinged, and she checked the message. “It’s Tina,” she muttered. “They want to know if I’m coming into work.”

“Oh, shit.” Victoria glanced at the door. “I’m supposed to be at the studio in half an hour.”

“You should go.” Max started texting back. “I’m just gonna tell them that I’m sick.”

“And what are you really going to do?”

Max took a slow breath. “… I have no idea,” she admitted. “I guess I’ll have to play it by ear.”

* * *

It didn’t start out well. After Victoria left, Max spent ten minutes just staring at the Google home page. Her hands were poised over her laptop keyboard as she tried to figure out what to type.

“… fuck it,” she muttered, hammering out the first thing she could think of.

**Time travel.**

She wasn’t sure what she expected, but the results seemed about right. A Wikipedia page, of course, and a list of movies that featured time travel as the central plot device. Then a few pages from scientific websites, asking of time travel was possible. She clicked on the one from NASA, which wasn’t helpful; they assured her that people traveling back in time wasn’t possible.

_But clocks on airplanes move slower than they do on the ground._ Max took a second to muse over that. _Weird._

Nothing else seemed to really help. As she navigated to the third, fourth, and fifth pages of her Google search, the results got less scientific and more conspiratorial. She tried a new search instead.

**Going back in time.**

The results were nearly identical. She huffed, blowing air out her nose as she tried again.

**Rewind time.**

_… I totally forgot about that meme._

**People rewinding time.**

Questions about whether or not it was possible. Suggestions for books and video games. A list of the YouTube Rewind videos. Max’s frustration began to grow.

**People going backwards in time.**

At least that one was more scientific. Though Max was pretty sure that parallel and alternate universes didn’t apply to her situation. She opted for a question instead.

**How would time travel work?**

Time dilation. Which… only covered traveling forward, not backwards.

**Is it possible to travel backwards in time?**

Sure, but if you were using a time machine, you’d only be able to go back until the date of its creation. Because the device itself moved through time; time didn’t move around the device.

_So maybe I’m moving through time. Time isn’t moving around me._ Max thought that, at least, was interesting. Though not helpful.

_Fuck it._ She cracked her knuckles. _Let’s go for broke._

**What if you went back in time and saved someone's life?**

_… hmm._ Max found an answer to someone who’d asked that question on social media, and clicked the link.

**In theory, were this to happen, you would have created two timelines. By going back to prevent your friend’s death, then returning forward to the time where you left, that friend would still be dead. If you stayed in the ‘alive’ timeline, there would now be two of you; the one that traveled back in time, and the one who was there to begin with, and now has no need to invent a time machine and go back to save your friend.**

**This action would, in effect, create a paradox. A situation where you were, but simply could not be.**

_A paradox. Wonderful._ Max kept reading.

**It’s unclear of what would happen in such a paradox, and we have no way to test any hypothesis. Would the two of you just coexist? Or would two of you existing in the same timeline cause that timeline to implode? Does time have a fail-safe? COULD two different timelines even exist? The universe could simply remove the new one, which eliminates both the you who traveled back in time, and the you who now has a still-alive friend.**

**In effect, by traveling back to save your friend’s life, you accomplished nothing but killing yourself. Your friend is still dead in the ‘correct’ timeline, and you’ve mysteriously vanished.**

A chill went down her spine. She shook it off as quickly as it had come. _Like this guy would know,_ she thought derisively. _Probably some clown who reads too much sci-fi._

_… but Maxine did suggest that she might’ve been one of the Maxes I left behind._

_It is possible that she was right? But where would she have come from? I’ve rewound so many times that she could be from anywhere._

Max retrieved a pen and a notebook from her office, intending to jot down a few thoughts. She started scribbling as she sat back down.

* * *

Victoria felt terrible for most of the day.

A possible impeding storm aside, she felt bad for leaving Max alone. She put on a brave face for her appointments, though she did rush through them as fast as she could.

Over lunch, and throughout the afternoon, she called everyone who’d made appointments for the rest of the week and cited personal issues, apologizing profusely that she’d have to push them back. Her calendar for the next week was completely packed as a result, but she found herself freed up by the end of the day.

_Deal with everything next week_ , she decided as she finally locked up her studio in the late afternoon. _Assuming the city is still standing._

_… fuck. This storm can’t come. We have to find a way to stop it._

Thinking about it made her sick, as she drove home. Especially when she thought about all of their friends and family that lived in Seattle. Her parents, Max’s parents, Steph, Taylor, Lindsey and her family, Max’s coworkers at the rehab center… and of course, Kate and Alice.

_Maybe we should try and get them all to leave._

_… I have no idea how the fuck we’d do that. Not without sounding crazy._ Victoria snorted, a sense of hopelessness coming over her. _Christ, they’d be trying to get us committed as soon as we were off the phone. The rehab center might try to check her in as a patient._

She sighed as she got in her car and began driving back to the condo, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. It wasn’t until she got to the first red light that she noticed something odd.

_What the hell is everyone looking at?_

Dozens of people had stopped on the street, staring into the sky. She watched a few of them look through their fingers, or putting on sunglasses.

That was when she noticed how dim the city had gotten.

_… oh no._

She reached up and undid the latch on her sunroof, sliding it backwards as she got a look at the sky. It was only a quick look, since she knew staring for too long was bad.

But it was enough to see the full-on solar eclipse.

_… fuck._

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK._

* * *

“ _John, I wasn’t aware that this was going to happen today. Were you?_ ”

Victoria had sped home as fast as possible. Everywhere she drove, people were looking skyward. Or at the shadows, watching the sun’s progress. She adjusted the volume on her radio, listening to a pair of talk show hosts discuss the phenomenon.

“ _I wasn’t either, Brenda,_ ” John replied to his female counterpart. “ _Solar eclipses don’t happen very often in the Pacific Northwest, so when they’re predicted, it’s a fairly big deal. We should’ve known at least a week or two ago._ ”

“ _So this isn’t something that happens unexpectedly._ ”

“ _No. Not usually, anyway._ ”

“ _Seems like someone at NASA might’ve dropped the ball, wouldn’t you think?_ ”

“ _Well, normally I’d disagree with you. They are an organization of incredibly smart people who don’t just ‘drop the ball’, so to speak._ ” He paused. “ _Though given the circumstances, I suppose I can’t completely discount the idea. Even the most brilliant among us are prone to the occasional fallacy, after all._ ”

“ _In any case, it’s happening now,_ ” Brenda acknowledged, as Victoria pulled into her parking spot. “ _Just remember to be safe, people. Please don’t look directly at the sun, even through sunglasses. You should use glasses specifically meant for looking at solar eclipses, welding goggles, or simply observe the shadows as the moon passes across-_ ”

She turned the car off, getting out and making straight for the elevator. _Hopefully this doesn’t set off alarm bells somewhere,_ she thought idly. _Though even if it did, I suppose that it wouldn’t be traced back to Max._

_I wonder if she’s seen it yet?_

As Victoria opened the door to their condo, she guessed not. Max was still parked at the kitchen table, right where she’d left her that morning. Her laptop was open in front of her, and she scribbled in a notebook with her right hand as she furiously took notes on something.

She jerked her head up as Victoria closed the door behind her. “Hey. How was the studio?”

“Okay.” Victoria set her purse down. “I moved all my appointments back for the rest of the week.”

“You didn’t have to-”

“Have you looked outside yet?”

“Don’t need to.” Max tapped her phone. “I saw the news alert. Told you there’d be a solar eclipse.”

“And… you’re not concerned?”

“No, I’m fucking terrified.” Max paused. “But I can’t do anything about it. Figured trying to learn about this was gonna be more productive than panicking.”

Victoria glanced at the notebook beside her wife. And noticed the several pages of hastily scribbled notes; a sharp contrast from Max’s usually-neat handwriting. “How’s the research been going?”

“I…” Max’s voice trailed off, as she looked between the book and her laptop. “I don’t know. I feel like I’ve learned a lot. But at the same time, I feel like I’ve made no progress.”

_… I’m gonna regret this._ Victoria slowly sat down in her chair, across from Max. “Like what?”

“You really want to know?”

“I don’t think I have a choice.”

“Okay… well, try to follow along.” Max flipped back to the beginning of her notebook. “So. Time paradoxes. Know what those are?”

_I knew it._

“Let’s say that I don’t,” Victoria offered.

“It means that it theoretically shouldn’t be possible to go back in time and change the event that made you go back in the first place.” Max pointed at their wall, where Victoria could see the picture of Alice hanging. “If she died, then I went back to save her, it would create an issue because it took her death for me to go back in time. Ergo, I couldn’t have gone back in the first place.”

Victoria scrunched her face. “I think I just got a headache.”

“Basically, I would’ve created a second timeline that shouldn’t exist. So by the nature of it being a paradox, it would cease to exist.”

“… wait. Like it would just… end?”

“Right. As soon as I saved her.”

A look of alarm came over Victoria’s face. “Then why hasn’t it?”

“I don’t know.” Max took a breath. “I think it’s because I’m the one moving through time. So there wouldn’t be a second Max wondering who the hell I was. OR, I’m an anomaly because I’m actually moving time itself, which means that Alice’s death never happened at all.”

“Okay, but if you did that second one, then why is there a storm coming?”

“I don’t know that, either.”

“What about rewinding to fix little stuff? Like spilled soda? Why does the storm only come when you save someone’s life?”

An irritated look came over Max’s face. “Babe, of all the Googling I did today, I did not find a Wikipedia page that covered the rules regarding what I can and cannot do.”

“… right.” Victoria sighed. “Well, what else did you find out?”

“Honestly, nothing concrete,” Max admitted. “There’s surprisingly little research into time travel.”

Victoria scoffed. “Can’t imagine why.”

“But I did find some stuff about parallel universes.” Max flipped the page. “The idea behind them is that they’re alternate universes, all part of the larger overall multiverse, where time moves forward as it does here. Just differently.”

“Different… how?”

“In any way you can imagine.” Max waved her arm. “Maybe in the next universe over, we live in Los Angeles and work for a magazine. Maybe I’ve gone full punk-rock, with a nose ring and pink highlights in my hair. Maybe you’re a lawyer instead of a photographer. The possibilities are literally endless.”

“Okay, Max, this is starting to get into science-fiction territory.”

“I know. But I think this has something to do with my powers.” Max looked up. “What if every time I rewound, I created another parallel universe? And I’ve rewound thousands of times, and maybe I rewound thousands of times in THOSE universes, so it’s all just-”

“No. Stop.”

Max blinked. “Why?”

“Because you’re crossing the line from genuine research into crazy-ville.” Victoria leaned forward. “And it’s starting to sound like the web sites you’re getting this stuff from were made by people who wear hats made out of aluminum foil.”

“… yea.” Max slouched in her chair. “I know. But I can’t find a lot of reliable information about this. Honestly, this whole ‘parallel universe’ thing is what makes the most amount of sense.”

“Which is concerning in it’s own right.” Victoria exhaled slowly, then leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table between them. “I don’t want to, but Max… we need to talk about how we’re gonna get people out of town.”

“I don’t know how we can,” Max admitted quietly. “I’m pretty sure Seattle’s not going to evacuate on my say-so.”

“I’m not talking about everyone. But the people we care about, at least.”

The brunette blinked. “You mean… just our friends and families?”

Victoria nodded. “I don’t see how we can help the others,” she acknowledged. “My parents are already out of town for business. I bet we can spin some sort of lie to your parents, to try and get them to leave, but I don’t know what.”

“And then…” Max paused. “We just… leave everyone else? To die?”

Victoria didn’t answer for several seconds. “… I don’t know what else to do,” she said quietly. “We can’t save everyone. I don’t even know how we’re going to save the people we care about.”

Max looked ill, as she stared at the notebook in front of her without speaking. “What time is it?” she finally asked.

“Um…” Victoria checked her watch. “Little after six. Why?”

The brunette didn’t answer as she reached into her purse and retrieved a set of keys, then stood and headed for her office. Victoria got up and followed her, watching as she unlocked one of her filing cabinets and reached towards the back.

Her brow furrowed as Max came back up with an orange bottle of pills. “What’s that?”

“Ambien.”

“Why the hell do you have Ambien?!”

“They’re left over from the last time I went to see my therapist. Back when I was having trouble sleeping.” Max shook the bottle, pills rattling around inside. “It’s been a few years, but they’re probably still good.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because I need to talk to her again. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to sleep on my own, at this point.”

“Talk to-” Victoria froze. “Your evil twin? Maxine?”

Max nodded as she opened the orange bottle, tipping a couple of pills into her hand. “I have questions that need answering.”

“No, Max, DON’T-”

Too late. Her wife threw the pills back, swallowing them all at once.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Victoria smacked the bottle from Max’s hands. “What the fuck?! You can’t just medicate yourself into sleep!”

“I have to see her.”

“You don’t even know if that’s going to work!”

“It’ll work.”

“YOU DON’T KNOW THAT!!”

Max took a slow breath. “You’re right,” she allowed. “I don’t.”

“Then what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“It’s the best idea I have.” Max looked at her. “You got a better one?”

Victoria opened her mouth to argue but stopped when she realized that she didn’t have an answer.

“Me either.” Max bent over and retrieved the pill bottle. “I’m taking my shower. This stuff kicks in pretty quick.”


	4. Monachopsis

The sleeping pills hit Max faster than she remembered. By the time she got out of the shower, she was already feeling exhausted. It took all of her effort to put on her PJs before she got into bed.

Victoria tried to talk to her, but Max’s brain was already too groggy to follow along. She felt her mind fade away even as her wife drew the blanket over her.

But she didn’t wind up at the Two Whales.

Lightning flashed, as she slowly came to her senses. Max found herself in a standing at the entrance of an alley she didn’t recognize. Lightning flashed again, rain pouring down around her, as she slowly started walking forward. Other than a dumpster and a stack of broken-down cardboard boxes, the alley was devoid of anything of note. At the other end of the alley, she could see a large park that stretched towards another row of buildings.

The sky over her head was dark and stormy, with angry clouds illuminating by the continuous lightning flashes. As Max looked up at the sky, she saw the beginning of a tornado form, the massive cyclone slowly touching down behind the buildings on the other side of the park. The tornado was so huge she had trouble appreciating the full size of it from her restricted vantage point.

The wind swept a piece of newspaper into the alley. Max stomped on it reflexively, stopping it so she could pick it up and check the date.

“It’s Friday.”

Max spun around to see her twin. Maxine looked at the storm indifferently, as she stood a few feet behind Max. “Man, that’s even bigger than the last one.”

“Why are we here?!” Max demanded.

“So that you can see the full consequences of your fuckup.”

“I already know what’ll happen!”

“I know you do. More than anyone. But there’s a difference between knowing and seeing for yourself. I think you’d do well to truly understand what was coming.”

Max glanced at the tornado, then back at Maxine. “I’m NOT going to let this happen,” she said forcefully.

“Oh? You’ve decided to go back and let time take its natural course?”

“No!!”

Maxine sighed. “Your stubbornness is only admirable to an extent, you know.”

Max didn’t know how to respond to that. She just stared at Maxine, taking heavy breaths. “Why is this happening?” she finally asked. “Why is a storm coming just because I saved someone’s life? What does it have to do with rewinding time?”

“Ooh, look at you.” Maxine gave what appeared to be a genuinely impressed look. “Finally asking good questions. I’m so proud of your growth.”

“Are you going to answer them?!”

“Mm.” Maxine folded her arms as she studied Max carefully. “… you know what? I think I will.”

“… you will?”

“Why not? I almost never get to explain any of this.” She smirked. “Besides, you did put a fair amount of effort into trying to figure it out for yourself.”

Max felt a tug on her diaphragm again, as she was yanked forward. This time she was pulled through some sort of dark tunnel, lights flashing around her. Almost as suddenly as she’d started, she’d stopped, her feet landing on a hard surface.

Everything around her was dark. She noticed that first, as she looked around. She couldn’t tell if she was in a room, or an auditorium, or even outside. And it was absolutely silent, completely devoid of noise. Everything as far as she could see was pitch black, without any end.

Except for a blue glow behind her. She turned to see what almost looked like an iridescent blue river, only a few feet wide, flowing through the flat surface without making waves or ripples.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Max looked down to see Maxine sitting cross-legged on the ground beside the river, her face reflecting the blue glow. Her elbows rested on her knees, her chin in her hands as she looked at the river dreamily. “I see it so often, but I still love just looking at it.”

“… what is it?” Max asked carefully.

“What do you think it is?”

Max looked up and down the river, noting how it gently bent through the space going back miles. “It’s… not water.”

“Very astute,” Maxine remarked dryly, extending a hand and dipping one of her fingers into the blue liquid. Curiously, that didn’t make any ripples appear either. “Try again. And ask yourself why I would’ve brought you here, specifically.”

“I…” Max looked at the river again. “… it’s not… time?”

“Very good.” Maxine smirked. “You catch on quick.”

“This is time? A blue river? Seriously?!”

“What did you think it looked like?”

Max opened her mouth, but stopped herself short when she realized that she had nothing to say.

“Thought so.” Maxine removed her finger. “To be fair, this isn’t EXACTLY time. This is how I see it. But there’s a lot going on here that you simply wouldn’t be able to fathom.”

“Then why am I here?”

“I’m getting to that.” Maxine nodded at the space beside her. “Sit down.”

Max complied, trying not to touch the blue liquid. The entire experience felt more than. “Um… now what?”

“Well.” Maxine looked at her. “Have you ever wondered what happens when you rewind time? Like, on a metaphysical level?”

“… yes.”

“Let me show you.” Maxine touched the blue water. “Let’s see… ah, this one’s a good example. Here, let’s take a look.”

Max leaned forward as the blue water started to clear, an image coming into focus. It was a first-person view, and she watched hands open a desk drawer.

Familiar hands. And a familiar desk. “That’s my office!” she exclaimed.

“Shh. Watch.”

Max watched herself move some paperwork to retrieve a lockbox from her drawer, bringing it up to set down on the desk. As she did so, her hand hit the coffee mug that was already there. She heard herself quietly swear as she looked over the spilled drink, before checking the door.

Then the image split. Almost like it was pulled apart. On one end, Max watched herself raise and hand and reverse time; on the other, she watched herself go into the kitchen, retrieve a roll of paper towels, and return to her office to clean up her mess. That sequence took much longer, though it moved quickly, like someone was fast-forwarding through a movie.

“I didn’t do that,” she said quietly.

“You would’ve, if you hadn’t rewound,” Maxine informed her.

“… wait, what?”

“You were closer than you think, with your parallel universe research.” Maxine smirked. “See, when you rewind, you’re branching away from the timeline. Which isn’t supposed to be able to happen; the laws of the universe don’t allow for it.”

“Then why can I do it?”

“Because you’re an anomaly,” Maxine stated, like it was obvious.

“An… anomaly?”

“Yep.”

“Why am I an anomaly?”

“Mm. I don’t think you’re ready for that yet.”

“What do you mean, I’m-”

“You’re not asking the important question,” Maxine interrupted. “Which is ‘if I’m breaking the laws of the universe whenever I rewind time, then why isn’t there a storm every week?’”

Max paused. “… why isn’t there?”

“Look. Watch what happens.”

She looked back at the river, as the two images of her rewinding time and cleaning her mess slowly coalesced back into one, where she finally opened the lockbox and began sorting through the contents. “I… don’t get it,” she admitted.

“At the end of the day, the result was exactly the same,” Maxine pointed out. “Whether you rewound time, or cleaned up the mess yourself, nothing substantial really changed. The timeline can self-correct, to some extent.”

“… what about bigger stuff?”

“Than spilled coffee? Let’s find out.”

The image shifted. Max was now looking at herself as she stood beside Victoria at their wedding venue, when they had first visited. She watched herself turn as Alice bumbled into the room while holding a photo, running for the stairs. Then as Alice tripped, flying over the stairs and hitting the ground face-first.

Again, the image split violently. On one end, Max rewound and caught Alice; on another, her and Victoria worked feverishly to care for the crying child, bandaging her wounds with what she assumed was the venue’s first aid kit. The images sped up until Max and Victoria returned Alice to Kate’s house and left to go home.

“Little Alice was banged up for a while, but she healed just fine,” Maxine informed her. “Once again, nothing substantial really changed.”

“So the timeline corrects when I rewind?”

“More or less.” Maxine took her finger back. “Really, most of the stuff you rewind for is minor. The universe doesn’t care about spilled coffee, or whether or not a kid gets a bloody nose.”

“And…” Max paused. “Saving Alice’s life?”

“Oh, that’s when things get complicated.”

Maxine gestured at the river, and Max watched a piece of it shake and gently curve away. The trickle flowed by her knee, with slowly but steadily increasing intensity.

“See, saving people’s lives? That’s not an insubstantial change. That’s HUGE,” Maxine stressed dramatically. “That little girl who’s supposed to die is now going to grow up. She’ll get married, have kids, and interact with thousands of people. And then her descendants will interact with thousands of people. And every interaction changes the timeline even more…”

As she spoke, Max watched the new time stream get bigger and bigger, to the point where the original stream was starting to visibly slow down. The blue water began to spiral as more of it was sucked out into the new branch. The water level started to drop, below the floor, lower and lower…

“It’s too much,” Max said without thinking.

“Exactly. It’s creating a brand-new timeline. But two timelines can’t exist; the universe won’t allow it.” Maxine shrugged. “One of them has to end.”

“Why the storm, though?”

“The storm.” Maxine leaned back, planting her hands behind her. “The storm is… well, in layman’s terms, it’s a manifestation of the universe trying to fix itself. The result of a split timeline, centered on the physical location where the time-altering event took place.” She smirked. “In other words, the universe is throwing a temper tantrum.”

Even with the serious subject, Max had to repress her own smirk.

“So really the only solution is to stop the time-altering event from taking place.” Maxine pointed. “You travel back through a photo, and…”

With a soft _pop_ , the new stream was cut off from the original flow of time. The blue liquid resumed flowing like normal.

“What if I don’t stop the storm?” Max asked.

“Then the other timeline disappears instead.” Maxine shrugged. “The only difference is the number of dead bodies art the other end of the rainbow.”

“Then how can I stop the storm?” Max pressed. “Isn’t there a way to just… divert time without it?”

“To what?!” Maxine looked at her incredulously. “I’m sorry, you just want to change the flow of time at whim? Is that what I’m hearing?”

“Yes!”

“Does this look like it’s easy to change?!” Maxine swept her hand across the river. “This was laid out long before your earliest ancestors were born. Before the fucking PLANET came into existence. You’re barely a blip on time’s radar, except for your ability to be a pain in the ass.”

Max felt her face get hot. “There has to be a way!”

“Sorry, sweetheart, you don’t just get to change the natural order of the universe.” Maxine folded her arms. “Not without consequences.”

The brunette huffed as she looked back down the river. Over its gentle curves, as it went back into the horizon she couldn’t see.

“… why isn’t this straight?”

“Excuse me?”

“This river.” Max looked back at her twin. “There’s no reason for it to curve on its own, is there? The timeline’s been changed before, hasn’t it?”

Maxine looked at her blankly. After a few seconds, a smile slowly started to spread across her face. “Look at you,” she said in awe. “The others took way longer to figure it out than you did.”

“So I’m NOT the first.”

“Not even close.”

“Who were the others?”

“Well…” Maxine paused. “Actually, no.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’s no fun if I just GIVE you all the answers.” She shrugged. “You’re gonna have to work for it.”

“I already did!” Max protested angrily. “What do you think I’ve been doing?!”

“Oh, yes, your full day of reading conspiracy theory websites,” Maxine said derisively. “You think less than twenty-four hours of research makes you an expert? Christ, you’re like the anti-vaxxer of time travel.”

Max was about to retort before a motion over her twin’s shoulder caught her eye. She blinked in confusion, not sure what she was seeing. Maxine took the cue and glanced behind her.

It was a blue butterfly. It flapped it’s wings gently, flying around to set lightly on Maxine’s knee. There it sat, motionlessly, facing the other brunette as Max tried to figure out what it was doing there.

“Because I brought her here,” Maxine said defensively.

“… what?”

“Oh, please. You’ve never cared before.” Maxine ignored Max’s question as she focused on the butterfly. “Don’t you have better things to do? Like nothing?”

Max was extremely confused. “Are you talking to… that… butterfly?”

Maxine continued to ignore her as she looked at the butterfly. She seemed to be listening to a silent conversation. “Last I checked, I don’t actually answer to you,” she finally said. “Besides, we’re just looking. It’s not like this is going to make a difference.”

“What is happening right now?”

“Hush.” Maxine threw her a glance. “It’s rude to interrupt.”

“But…” Max was at a loss for words, before a memory smacked her in the face. “Wait a minute. I saw that butterfly in the bathroom when Chloe died.”

Now she had Maxine’s attention. “You did?”

She nodded.

“Well, well.” Maxine folded her arms smugly, as she looked back at the blue-winged insect. “Now look who’s bending the rules."

“What rules?” Max asked. “What’s happening? What is that?”

The butterfly hopped around to face her. Even though Max couldn’t discern its eyes, she felt like it was staring through her, deep into her soul. She found herself unable to move, or think, or even blink as she locked gazed with the creature.

After a few moments, it hopped back around. Max was finally able to blink and shake her head. “… what was that?”

Maxine ignored her again, sighing as she looked at the blue butterfly. “Fine,” she muttered, looking back at Max. “Sorry, sweetheart, Mom says you can’t sleep over anymore.”

“What does-”

“I will give you a hint, though- yes, I am,” she shot back at the butterfly. “I can bend the rules, too.”

“What hint?”

“Well, I’m not gonna make it too easy.” Maxine smirked. “Just ask Tahira about her mother. I think you’ll be interested in what she has to say.”

“Who the hell is-”

Too late. Max felt another jerk behind her navel, as she was yanked backwards. Everything quickly faded to blackness as she flew away from the river. The last thing she remembered was Maxine watching her go, an amused expression on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Xmas!!


	5. Rigor Samsa

**Wednesday**

Victoria had worried through most of the night.

Right after Max had fallen asleep, she’d laid down next to her. Not letting go of her hand, hoping that she’d be able to somehow alleviate even a hint of the anxiety that she knew was gripping her wife. And hoping that everything would be okay. She hadn’t even bothered to change; she’d been in her jeans and blouse for most of the night as she watched Max sleep.

She wasn’t sure when she’d finally passed out, but she knew it was sometime after midnight. When she finally woke up the next day, the other side of the bed was empty.

Victoria frowned as she slowly sat upright. “… Max?” she called.

“In here!”

She got up, walking into the kitchen and blinking at the scene. Max was back in front of her laptop, clicking her touchpad with one hand while sipping coffee with the other. And it clearly wasn’t her first; there was a mostly empty pot on the coffee machine behind her. A plate with Hot Pocket sleeves was at her elbow.

“Good. You’re awake. You snored a lot, by the way. We should see if you need one of those C-PAP machines or something.” Max pointed at Victoria’s laptop on the coffee table. “I need your help.”

Victoria looked between her and the mug. “… how much coffee have you had?”

“Dunno. Been busy.” Max pointed at the laptop again. “I need you to help me search for someone.”

“Who?”

“Tahira.”

Max answered like it was obvious. Victoria waited for a follow-up, but there was none. “Um… who’s Tahira?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Wh- then how am I supposed to find him?”

“Her,” Max corrected. “Girl’s name. Arabic origins, from the Urdu language. It means ‘pure’. Mostly found in Muslim countries. Their associated lucky number is four.”

“… okay, babe, you’re starting to worry me,” Victoria said carefully. “I really need you to-”

“I saw Maxine again. She explained how my rewinding powers work. Oh, and I saw time. It was pretty neat, actually.”

“You saw… time?”

“A physical manifestation of it.” Max’s eyes never left her laptop as she spoke, taking another sip from her mug. “It looked like a blue river. It was beautiful. But it had curves in it. From the people like me, before me. They bent the timeline somehow. Maxine wouldn’t tell me who or how, but she said I should find Tahira and ask her about her mother. Also, I think I might’ve seen a god.”

Victoria blinked. “Wait, you think you saw a what now?”

“A god. Although I don’t know if it was really a god. Never met one before.” Max shot her a look. “Are you going to help me find Tahira or not?”

“Excuse me, back the fuck up!” Victoria exclaimed. “What the fuck happened when you fell asleep?! How do you go from seeing time and possibly a god to trying to locate an Arabic girl for whom you only have a first name?! You can’t just drop bombshells like this without any context, Max!”

The brunette took a slow breath before looking at her. “I told you, I saw her again,” Max said patiently. “And she gave me another hint. But all she told me was that I should find someone named Tahira. That was all I could get before something that looked like a blue butterfly appeared and kicked me out.”

“A… butterfly?”

“Yes. I think that it was a god. Though like I said, I’m not sure.” Max went back to her laptop. “I’ve been Googling for a few hours, but none of the Tahiras I’ve found seem to be of any help. Maxine didn’t give me any context, either. No last name, country of origin, birthday… it’s been really frustrating.”

“Yea. I, uh… can imagine.” Victoria stepped closer. “So, what are you doing exactly?”

“I made an account on Reddit, then started posting anywhere that might be able to help.” Max shrugged as she started typing again. “Asking if anyone knew a Tahira, who might’ve had some experience with reversing time. Either her or her mother.”

“Getting anything back?”

“Not really. Mostly joke replies.” Max had a sour expression on her face. “I even used the ‘serious’ tag, and this asshole wants to know if I’m looking for a threesome. By the way, do we have any lunch plans?”

Victoria was taken aback. “Um… no. Why?”

“I asked Kate if we could meet up. I want to make sure Alice is doing okay.”

“Why wouldn’t she be?”

“Because after I went back in time to save Chloe, she almost died a few more times between then and the storm.”

“What?!”

Max nodded as she hit the Enter button on her laptop. “First she shot herself while shooting bottles in the junkyard. Then she got her foot stuck in the train tracks, and I had to get her out. And then after we found Rachel’s body, Jefferson killed her.”

Victoria looked at her with a horrified expression. “And… you think that was all because you went back to save her?”

“I don’t know. I initially chalked it up to Chloe being Chloe.” Max paused. “But… maybe the universe was trying to correct itself before the storm.”

“… shit.”

“Yea. I know.” Max turned back to her laptop. “Can you please help me look for this Tahira girl? Because I’m running out of ideas.”

Victoria looked at her laptop on the coffee table. Then took a slow breath. “… no.”

“What? Why-”

“Because I have no idea how I’d do it better than you.” Victoria looked back at Max. “And I want to figure out how to get our friends and family out of the city. If this storm is as bad as you say it’s going to be, I don’t want anyone we care about to be here if you can’t stop it.”

A look of guilt came over Max’s face, before she nodded. “… I didn’t think about that,” she admitted.

“You’re a little distracted.”

“How are you going to do it?”

“I have no idea.” Victoria pulled her phone from her pocket. “But my father does employ a couple of people who might.”

* * *

“ _… why, exactly?_ ”

Victoria bit her lip as she looked out the window. She’d moved to Max’s office, to get away from the brunette’s constant typing. “I can’t tell you.”

“ _And why, exactly, is that?_ ”

“It’s… really, really complicated.”

On the other end of the phone, Brad made a noise of disapproval. “ _It sounds like you know something that other people should know, too. Though I don’t see what it would be._ ”

“Let’s just pretend that it’s a surprise party. Can you do it or not?”

“ _Of course I can. It’s not a matter of my abilities, it’s a matter of the expense surrounding the request,_ ” Brad explained. “ _You’re talking about convincing people with responsibilities and jobs to leave them without advanced notice. And misleading them about the reasons on top of that._ ”

“But it can be done.”

“ _Maybe._ ” Brad paused for a moment. “ _We do have a small stake in the company that owns the insurance agency Max’s father works for. I could phone in a request to send him out of the state, but they would need a reason. Not to mention that we’d probably have to foot the bill._ ”

“So give them one!” Victoria exclaimed.

“ _And then what do I do about her mother?_ ”

“… shit.”

“ _Exactly._ ”

Victoria closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand. “There must be some way to get them both out of town.”

“ _… mm._ ” She could feel Brad thinking carefully. “ _There might be something. But it’ll be tricky, and you’ll have to help._ ”

“What’s that?”

“ _Well, Max is the only close family member they really have. So if their daughter found herself hospitalized out of the area, they’d probably drop everything to go find her, wouldn’t they?_ ”

Victoria jerked her head up. “Yes. When she got stabbed a few years ago, they were at the hospital less than an hour after the phone call.”

“ _I can arrange for a similar phone call,_ ” Brad allowed. “ _A hospital could let them know that their daughter’s been in a car accident. Maybe in Oregon, while you two were driving down to Portland._ ”

“Both of us?”

“ _It would have to be the two of you. Otherwise, their next phone call would be to you, wouldn’t it?_ ”

“Oh. Yea, probably.”

“ _You two would have to turn your phones off,_ ” he cautioned. “ _Or at least block their numbers, so their calls go straight to voicemail. And when they found out that you two weren’t actually there, I imagine there would be more than a few questions._ ”

Victoria nodded. “We’ll deal with that later.”

“ _Miss Chase, is there a good reason that I shouldn’t be in Seattle this Friday?_ ” Brad asked carefully. “ _Because if not, I’d really like to know._ ”

“Um…” She paused. “… I really, really hope not,” she allowed. “But I don’t want to risk it.”

“ _… okay, then._ ” Brad let out a breath. “ _I’ll make the phone call happen. But I expect some answers when this is over, Miss Chase._ ”

She thanked him before hanging up, sticking her phone in her pocket. _Man, talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul._

Max was still at her laptop, sipping on coffee; Victoria noted that there was a fresh pot on the machine. “Your parents are going to get a phone call tomorrow evening, that we’ve been in a car accident in Portland,” she informed her wife.

The brunette glanced up. “They are?”

“Yep. So we’ll need to block their numbers after lunch.” Victoria sat down heavily on their couch. “I still have no idea what to do for the rest of our friends. At least Courtney’s already safe.”

“… me either,” Max admitted quietly. “I don’t know how to convince anyone else to leave Seattle.”

“Have you had any more luck finding this Tahira girl?”

“Not really. Reddit’s been less than helpful. So I started sending messages to everyone named Tahira I could find on Facebook, asking about their mothers. And if they knew anything about rewinding time.” Max shook her head. “Only a few have replied so far, and they all seem to think I’m crazy.”

Victoria shook her head. “Sadly, babe, I’m not surprised.”

“Me either. I don’t know what else to do.” Max blew air out of her nose. “A last name would’ve been helpful.”

The phone at her elbow beeped. “Ten o’clock,” she muttered, silencing the alarm. “We need to get dressed. We’re meeting Kate and Alice at their house in an hour.”


	6. Mal de Coucou

“Okay, you were right. That is good pizza.”

“I know.” Kate nodded as she took another slice from the pie on her coffee table. Her and Alice sat on the couch, as Victoria and Max shared the love seat. “We can’t order from anywhere else now. These guys have ruined Domino’s and Pizza Hut for me.”

“That makes two of us.” Victoria took another bite, chewing and swallowing. “Maybe I should get one of these for my dad. I’ll bet he could convince them to franchise a new location near our condo.”

“Or you could hurry up and find a house near here,” Kate offered. “Then you wouldn’t have to go through the trouble.”

“I suppose that would be the cheaper option.”

Kate chuckled, taking another bite and swallowing before looking at Max. “… are you okay?”

The brunette took her eyes off Alice, who’d been quietly munching on her own slice, and looked at Kate. “Sorry?”

“You’re really quiet.”

“I, uh, didn’t sleep well.” Max rubbed her eyes. “How have you guys been, by the way? How is everything?”

Kate smirked. “Pretty good. Not much change in the two days you haven’t seen us.”

“… it’s only been two days?” Max checked her phone. “Maybe I’m losing it. Feels like it’s been longer.”

“Mom, can I get my drawing for Aunt Max?” Alice asked suddenly.

“Sure thing, sweetie.”

Alice jumped out of her seat and bumbled off, heading for the stairs. “How’s she been, since the car thing?” Victoria asked once the child was out of earshot.

“Nervous crossing the street.” Kate sighed. “When we went grocery shopping yesterday, she had a death grip on my hand the whole time we were in the parking lot. Didn’t let go until we got inside the store. And honestly, my grip was probably just as tight.” She looked at Max. “It’s a drawing of you, by the way.”

“Huh?”

“The one she’s getting from her room. She drew you pulling her back from that truck.”

“Oh.” Max sat back in her chair. “… that was pretty terrifying.”

“For both of us. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t gotten there in time.” Kate shook her head. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“Does she need to… I don’t know, see someone?” Victoria asked.

“No, I don’t think so. She’ll probably recover on her own. Kids are pretty resilient.” Kate nodded. “We had a really long talk, about not running into the road and looking both ways before you cross a street. But she seems fine, emotionally. She was super-excited yesterday for the eclipse.”

“… the eclipse?”

Kate raised her eyebrows as she looked at Max. “Did you not see it?”

Max shook her head. “I was inside all day.”

“Too bad. It was pretty cool.” Kate thumbed towards the wall beside her. “Our neighbor let us use her eclipse glasses to watch. She’s really knowledgeable about astronomy and was going on and on about how nobody knew it was going to happen. Apparently, it’s a really big deal.”

“That must have been cool for Alice to see,” Victoria acknowledged. “Not something that happens every day.”

“Oh, definitely.”

Alice’s footsteps echoed on the stairs as she came back down, running up to Max with a piece of white construction paper. “Lookit what I made, Aunt Max!” She proclaimed as she presented her drawing.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Victoria couldn’t help but be amused at the child’s crayon art. She’d draw an overhead view of the street, with everyone depicted as a stick figure. Victoria and Kate were distinguishable by their yellow hair, while Max’s was her usual shade of brown. The brunette was drawn laying across a crooked red car, one stick hand drawn rather long to keep hold of the smaller stick of Alice. A big black rectangle that Victoria assumed was the pickup truck sat menacingly in the middle of the road.

_I don’t know what makes it cuter, the names above everyone’s head or Kate being half my height._

“Wow, that looks really good!” Max smiled, though Victoria could tell that it was forced. “Can I have this to hang in my office?”

“Yes.”

“Then can you sign it for me?”

“Okay!” Alice let go of the paper. “I’ll get my crayon!”

“That’s…”

Victoria had never seen Max’s face change so quickly. Or the blurry effect last so long; it was almost a full second, before her wife’s face went back to normal. Max’s amused expression had changed to a scared one. “Alice, wait!”

“Huh?”

“Can you sign it in pen for me? Like your mom signs her work?” Max snatched her purse from her feet and dug through it, producing a black pen. “I want everyone I work with to know that it was a real artist that drew this.”

“Okay.” Alice took the pen from Max’s hand.

“Thanks, kiddo. I…” Max winced, as she put a hand to her head. “Ow.”

“You okay, babe?” Victoria asked carefully.

“I just got a really bad headache. Kate, do you have any aspirin?”

“Sure.” Kate pointed to the bathroom. “In the medicine cabinet. You want me to get it for you?”

“No, I’ll grab it. Thanks.”

* * *

“She fell coming back down the stairs.”

A sinking feeling developed in Victoria’s gut, as she drove them back to their condo. “How bad was it?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t know. I didn’t get up to check.” Max was sagged against the door of the Prius, her eyes closed. “Didn’t want to waste any time.”

“How far back did you rewind?”

“Three minutes. Maybe four.”

“No wonder your head hurt.”

“It’s better now.” Max sighed. “I just… really, really don’t want to look at my phone.”

Victoria frowned. “Why?”

“Because if I do, I’m probably going to see that whales have beached themselves in the Puget Sound. And I don’t want to think about that right now.”

“I thought you said that these things didn’t happen until the sun was setting.” Victoria checked the clock. “It’s not even two.”

“It is?” Max peeled her eyes open and checked the dashboard. “Huh. Feels later.”

“I don’t like how you’re losing your sense of time,” Victoria admitted. “I’m starting to get worried.”

Max smirked. “Really? You’re just starting now?”

“I mean seriously worried.”

“Again, you’re just starting now?”

Victoria shot her wife a look, as she pulled into the condo parking lot. “You know what I mean, Max.”

“Yea.” Max nodded as Victoria parked and turned the car off. “Sorry.”

“Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”

The trip was silent, neither of them speaking as they entered the building and rode the elevator back to the sixth floor. Max lead the way inside, re-taking her seat at the kitchen table in front of her laptop and turning it back on.

“I got a few replies on Reddit,” she announced.

“Oh?” Victoria shrugged off her jacket, hanging it on the hook. “Anything substantial?”

Max scrolled for a few seconds. “… no,” she muttered dejectedly. “Just a new batch of assholes. And a dick pic.”

“Really?” Victoria walked around the table to stand behind Max. “… wow. Somebody needs to learn how to manscape.”

“I know, right?”

“You should reply back, asking if he’s considered investing in a hedge trimmer.” Victoria smirked. “Or tell him to turn down his air conditioning.”

“Pretty sure I’m not supposed to engage with him.” Max deleted the message, leaning back in her seat as she dragged a hand down her face. “I don’t know what to do, Victoria. I feel like I’ve tried everything, and I’m out of options.”

Victoria took a slow breath as she looked over Max. Her wife’s posture was completely slumped, as if she was both physically and emotionally exhausted. “… okay,” she breathed. “Walk me through it.”

“Through… what?”

“Your dream.” Victoria sat in the chair across from Max. “Slower than you did before. You said there was a blue river that represented time?”

“Yes. Or… maybe it actually was time. How it’s supposed to be seen, maybe?” Max winced. “My evil twin was being pretty vague.”

“What else did she say?”

“Well, she confirmed that I wasn’t the first person to ever have these powers.” Max looked up as she tried to recall everything. “She showed me how the timeline can self-correct whenever I rewind to fix little things. But saving lives is where things get hectic.”

“Why?”

“Because I stop someone from dying when they were supposed to.” Max sighed. “The future splits as that person starts interacting with people, and the timeline has to bend away from where it was before. Maxine said that two timelines can’t exist, so one of them has to end.”

Victoria absorbed her explanation with rapt attention. “And the storm?”

“Apparently, it’s a side effect of using my powers to save someone’s life.” Max smirked. “She referred to it as the universe throwing a temper tantrum.”

The blonde snorted. “Funny.”

“Yea, I thought so.”

“What else?”

“Well, like I said, I saw that the timeline had a bunch of curves in it. I asked if other people like me had adjusted the timeline before.” Max paused. “She… actually sounded proud of me, that I’d realized that. I think that was important.”

“But she wouldn’t tell you who,” Victoria stated. “Or how.”

“No. Just that I should find someone named Tahira.”

“Bummer.” Victoria leaned back, looking away in thought. “I’d love to know what she has to say about all this.”

“That makes two of us.” Max sighed. “But… I have no idea how. I mean, I’ve been at this since four this morning, but I’ve made no-”

“OH!!”

Victoria’s sharp inhale of breath startled Max, so much that she jumped in her seat as the blonde’s head snapped back around with wide eyes. “Oh my GOD,” she breathed. “Holy SHIT, Max!!”

“What?!” Max demanded. “What is it?”

“You said the blue river had curves.” Victoria gripped the edge of the table as she slowly stood upright, talking quickly. “Time itself has curves, right? From people like you, who fucked around with the timeline?”

“Yes. So?”

“If time curved, Max, then those people must have saved someone’s life. Someone who was supposed to die.” Victoria was breathing quickly. “That’s the only way to change the timeline, right?”

“That’s what it sounded like.”

“What else happens when you use your powers to save someone’s life?”

“I mean, it makes…” Max’s voice trailed off. “… a storm.”

“A huge fucking storm, Max!” Victoria’s voice took on a high pitch. “A fucking storm strong enough to wipe out an entire city! How many of those do you think there’ve been in the past hundred years?!”

“Oh. Oh my God.” Max looked at Victoria with wide eyes. “I didn’t even think about that.”

“You’ve been trying to find a Tahira to figure out what happened in the past. But we KNOW what happened already.” Victoria took a deep breath. “You don’t have to use her to find a storm, Max. You can use the storm to find HER.”

Max blinked several times. Then stood up and grabbed Victoria’s shirt, pulling the blonde roughly towards her. Victoria’s eyes widened in surprise as Max kissed her fiercely on the lips.

“I am so fucking lucky that you’re here,” Max breathed as they separated.

Victoria couldn’t help but smirk. “Damn right.”

“Yea yea. Go get your laptop.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I'm curious if anyone's caught the meanings of the chapter titles yet.


	7. Gnossienne

“I don’t know about this, Max.”

“Just put it on the wall.”

“Are you sure?” Victoria looked between the printed paper in her hand and her wife. “I mean, I know it was a big storm. But it was a hurricane, not a tornado.”

Max gave her a look as she re-filled her coffee cup. “It killed twelve hundred people. And almost wiped New Orleans off the map. Put it up.”

“Okay, but if this means that we’re considering hurricanes too, our list of possibilities is going to get a lot longer,” Victoria cautioned. “And not just hurricanes. Typhoons, tropical storms, tsunamis…”

“Oh, I didn’t think about tsunamis.” Max turned back to her computer. “I’m gonna print out the Fukushima disaster, too.”

“Wh- that was a nuclear reactor melting down, Max, not bad weather.”

“It was caused by a tsunami.” Max typed with lightning-fast fingers on her laptop. “Jeez, it killed over fifteen thousand people. We’re definitely throwing that up there.”

Victoria sighed as she turned to the wall of their condo. Dozens of Wikipedia printouts were arranged in a rough chronological order, covering all manner of major storms. She used a piece of scotch tape to hang the one for Hurricane Katrina near the end. “Now what?”

“Hang on. I’m pulling up a list of the deadliest hurricanes.” Max typed for a few seconds before clicking on her touchpad. “… shit.”

Victoria winced. “How many?”

“A lot.” Max scrolled. “Katrina’s not even in the top ten.”

“Great.” Victoria shook her head “Maybe we should stick to the last fifty years instead of the last hundred.”

“No. We have no idea how old Tahira is; she could be in her fifties. And Maxine said to ask about her mother.” Max shook her head. “We need to stick with the last century.”

Victoria looked forlornly over the wall. They had started with lists of the deadliest tornados, and then grown from there. “… this seemed so much easier a few hours ago.”

“Well, once we finish, then we can start narrowing it down.” Max clicked a few more buttons, and the printer in her office came to life. She went and retrieved several sheets of paper, handing them to Victoria. “Here. Hang these.”

“What’s this?”

“The Wikipedia articles for those first few hurricanes.” Max walked back towards the office. “I need to use the bathroom. And load a new ream of paper.”

Victoria shuffled through the papers in her hands as Max entered the office. _Jesus, Hurricane Mitch killed a lot of people… Maria definitely fucked up Puerto Rico, that’s a worthy inclusion…_

_Man, this is depressing._ Victoria sighed as she got a new piece of tape, hanging up the first paper. _Worst homework assignment ever._

_Fuck, I hope this works._

A knocking at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Dinner’s here!” she called out towards the bathroom, turning for the door and unlocking it.

She paused as she opened the door. “… Steph?”

“Hey.” The brunette smirked. “Sorry to disappoint you. We didn’t bring dinner.”

Victoria looked over Steph’s shoulder to see Taylor standing behind her, an equally-amused expression on her face. “… what are you guys doing here?”

“Well, we WERE coming to check on Max,” Taylor answered. “Steph said she was sick. And we were nearby.”

_Aw, shit._ “Not a good idea,” Victoria stated. “She’s pretty out of it. Won’t stop puking. Hasn’t left the bed for days. Probably contagious as hell.”

“Really?” Steph tilted her head. “Kate said she seemed fine when you guys saw her for lunch.”

“… you talked to Kate?”

“We did.” Steph smiled widely. “I was trying to get a copy of one of her books, to give to my nephew for his birthday. When we were talking, she happened to mention that you two had just left.”

“And now we’re here to bust Max’s balls for calling out sick,” Taylor informed her. “Or Steph is, really. I don’t actually care, we were just in my car.”

“So where is she?” Steph tried to poke her head around Victoria’s shoulder. “You guys trying to extend your already-lengthy honeymoon?”

Victoria quickly side-stepped, blocking the door. “It’s really not a good time, Steph,” she said quickly. “We’re in the middle of something.”

Steph raised her eyebrow. “… Victoria, is Max tied to your bed?”

“Wha- no!!”

“Oh, I totally bet she is.” Steph looked at Taylor. “Told you it was a sex thing.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Jeez, Vic, way to fit the newlywed stereotype.”

“So what kind of kinky shit are you guys doing?” Steph asked devilishly. “Bondage? Roleplay? Pony-play? What kind of fetish is precluding Max from coming back to work for yet ANOTHER week?”

Victoria’s face flushed. “Seriously, Steph, now is not a good time.”

“I bet not. MAX!!” Steph yelled into the apartment. “If you’re tied up against your will, call out!”

“Steph! Shut up!” Victoria hushed. “We’re not the only ones living in this-”

“What’s in your hand?”

Victoria paused at Taylor’s question, glancing down at the paperwork she was still holding. She immediately turned it around in her hand. “Work stuff.”

“Work stuff about Hurricane Maria?” Taylor asked incredulously. “Was that a Wikipedia page? What do you need THAT for?”

“It’s not-”

“And what the hell’s all over your wall?”

She moved again, trying to block the view of the papers she’d spent the past half-hour taping up. “Nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing? I can SEE it, Vic.”

“What the…” Steph frowned as she stepped closer. “… is that a list of tornados?”

“Okay, guys, I appreciate you both coming by, but this is for real not a good time.” Victoria spoke in hurried words, as she started closing the door. “I’ll let Max know that you-”

Before she could react, Steph reached out and slapped the paperwork in her hand, causing all of it to spill to the floor. Victoria desperately tried to catch the papers before they fell, but had to let go of the door to do so. Steph took the opportunity to push it all the way open, giving them a full view of the apartment interior.

“… what the hell is all that?” the brunette asked incredulously, as she stared at the wall.

“Nothing!” Victoria was furiously gathering all the paperwork from the floor as fast as she could. “You guys have to-”

Steph slipped around her before the blonde could stop her. “Are you… cataloging tornados?” she asked. “And hurricanes? And tsunamis? What IS all this?”

“Private is what it is!” Victoria snapped as she stood upright, the papers crumpled in her hand. She slapped them down on an end table before grabbing Steph’s arm, intent on pulling her back towards the door. “Not to mention none of your-”

The office door opened beside her and Max stepped out, a few more printed papers in her hands. She blinked at the sight of Steph and Taylor. “Ah. I thought that was you guys.”

Steph had a very confused look on her face as she glanced between Max, the papers in her hands, and the wall. “… you don’t look very sick,” she finally said.

“I’m not. Thanks for coming by to see me, though.”

“They were just leaving,” Victoria said quickly. “Come on, Steph.”

Her friend ignored her as she looked back at her wife. “Max, what is all this?”

“It’s complicated.” Max rifled through the paperwork in her hands, before looking back at them. “Hey, are you doing anything on Friday?”

“Um… I don’t think so?”

“You should take a vacation. Get away for a few days.” Max looked at Taylor. “The both of you. Maybe go down to Portland and hang out with Courtney for a long weekend. We never visit her, I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”

It was Taylor’s turn to have an incredulous look on her face. “A vacation to Portland? Where did THAT come from?”

“There might be a big storm this Friday. You guys will be a lot safer if you’re not here.”

“… a storm?”

“Max, what are you doing?” Victoria asked in a hushed voice.

“Trying to get our friends out of town so they don’t get hurt.” Max answered like it was painfully obvious.

Taylor already had her phone in her hand, swiping through a weather app. “There’s no storm this Friday,” she said after a few seconds. “It’s just supposed to be partly cloudy.”

“Hopefully it stays that way. But it would still be better if you two weren’t here.” Max stepped over to the TV, picking up the remote and turning it on. “Babe, the news channels start on two hundred, right?”

“Um… why?” Victoria asked carefully.

“The whales are supposed to beach themselves today.” She navigated through the guide and selected a local station before muting the volume. “It’ll probably be on TV if they do.”

“Whales?” Steph asked. “What whales?”

“Last time it was humpbacks.” Max turned back to the kitchen table, pulling a new strip of scotch tape from the dispenser. “I don’t know what it’ll be now, though.”

Steph and Taylor stared at Max for several seconds, not moving or speaking as she brunette applied the tape to one of the papers. Finally, Steph turned to Victoria and stepped in close. “Okay, how long has she been like this?” she asked in a low voice, adopting a look of concern. “Since Monday?”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know if she’s having a mental breakdown, or what, but this isn’t normal,” Steph answered carefully. “She’s not-”

“The clinical term is psychotic episode,” Max corrected absently, as she taped a piece of paper on the wall. “And I can still hear you.”

Steph spared a quick glance at Max before looking back at Victoria. “It’s good that you’re trying to help her, but you’re not qualified for this,” she whispered. “If Max is having a psychotic episode-”

“She’s not,” Victoria interrupted, her mind racing as she tried to come up with an excuse for her wife’s behavior. “Look, she’s fine. We’re just trying to work through some stuff, that’s all. We don’t need any help.”

“No, you DEFINITELY need help,” Steph corrected quietly. “This is not something you can handle on your own, Victoria. Just… let me call Tina, she can get her some real-”

Max turned around, and Victoria watched her face fall out of focus. Her heart rate spiked as Max returned to normal. “Babe, what are you-”

“You have a five-dollar-bill in your pocket,” she told Steph. “And two quarters, a dime, and four pennies.”

The two girls stared at her. After a few seconds, Steph dug into her pocket, pulling out a crumpled bill and some change. She counted it quickly, then looked back up after a few seconds. “… how did you do that?”

Max didn’t answer as she turned her gaze to Taylor, nodding at the purse on her shoulder. “You’ve got three twenties and two singles in your wallet. And your purse has four tampons, two napkins, a granola bar, a receipt from Olive Garden, and Steph’s birthday present. Which looks really nice, by the way. Good pick.”

Taylor instinctively grabbed her purse with her other hand as Max turned back to the wall. “How the fuck did you know that?” she asked, a look of shock on her face.

“Same way I know there’s a storm coming on Friday. And that Steph’s reaching for her phone, so she can call Tina.”

The others instinctively looked at Steph’s hand, which was halfway into her pocket. The brunette froze as she stared at Max. “… no I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were.”

Victoria took a big step to stand beside Max, grabbing her wife’s arm. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but this is NOT the time,” she said forcefully. “You need to rewind and take this all back, before-”

Max shot a glare at Victoria. “I am TRYING to get them to go someplace safe!” she shot back. “I don’t know how else to convince them to leave Seattle!”

“Telling everyone your secret isn’t going to help!” Victoria exclaimed. “You’re just going to freak people out!”

“I don’t care how they feel, as long as they’re-” Max stopped as her face fell out of focus again, and she whipped her head around at Steph, who now had her phone in hand. “Do NOT call my mom!”

Steph jumped in alarm. “I- how did you-”

“Okay, what the FUCK is going on?!” Taylor demanded. “What are you doing? How do you know all this stuff? And WHY is all this crap on your wall?!”

Max opened her mouth to reply angrily, but she stopped herself short. Instead, she took a few seconds to take a long breath, drawing it in slowly through her nose before she spoke. “I can rewind time.”

“You…” Taylor’s voice trailed off. “… huh?”

“I can rewind time,” she repeated. “I’ve been able to since our senior year of high school, back at Blackwell.”

“Max, are you sure about this?” Victoria whispered.

“Not really, no.” Max looked back at Steph and Taylor. “That’s how I knew Steph was about to call my mother. And the contents of your purse.”

“That’s…” Steph blinked. “Okay, Max, I don’t know WHAT is happening here, but you cannot-”

“I do it all the time. Especially at work, to help with patients.” Max paused. “But three days ago, I used it to save Alice’s life. And I broke one of the laws of the universe. Now there’s a storm coming to wipe Seattle off the map on Friday, unless I figure out a way to stop it. Which is why you should take a vacation, because I don’t know if I can.”

Nobody spoke for several seconds, before Steph licked her lips and stepped forward carefully, holding her arms out in a calming gesture. “Max, please listen to me,” she said slowly. “I know I’m not trained in this sort of thing, like you and Tina are. But you are having some sort of delusion.”

Max ignored her, as she turned and picked up a piece of paper and a pen from the kitchen table. As she did so, Victoria watched her face briefly fall out of focus again.

“Whatever you think is really happening, it’s not. Please let me call Tina, so she can…” Steph paused as Max scribbled something. “What are you doing?”

“Here.” Max finished and handed the paper to Taylor. “Hold that.”

Taylor frowned as she looked over the note. “What are th-”

“Not yet.” Max looked back at Steph. “Pick a number at random. Then say it out loud.”

“… why?”

“I’m going to prove that I’m not lying. Pick a big one. And if you’re not convinced, then I’ll let you call Tina.”

Steph cocked her head. “… okay,” she breathed. “Um… six million and seven.”

Taylor gasped, covering her mouth as she looked at the note.

“Another one,” Max ordered. “Go on. Bigger.”

Steph looked between her and Taylor. “… eight billion, one hundred and forty-four.”

“Oh my God.” Taylor looked at Max with big eyes. “How did you do that?”

“Okay, what IS that?!” Steph demanded.

“I wrote down the numbers you’re picking,” Max told her. “You got one more. And if you really think I’m lying, you’d better try harder.”

Steph glanced at the note in Taylor’s hand, before squaring her shoulders. “Fine,” she allowed, taking a deep breath. “One-hundred and sixty-two trillion, four-hundred and thirty-five billion, nine-hundred and eighty-one million, two-hundred and twelve thousand, six-hundred and seventeen.”

Taylor dropped the note like it was on fire, clutching her hands to her face, and it fluttered to the floor at Steph’s feet. Her girlfriend grabbed it, turning it over.

Even in the tense moment, Victoria couldn’t help but feel a little validated while watching the blood leave Steph’s face. The brunette looked between Max and the note, taking a step backwards and falling onto the couch.

“… that’s not possible,” she breathed. “I… I made that up on the spot, there’s no way you could’ve-”

“Why?”

Max looked at Taylor. “Huh?”

“Why can you…” Her shaky voice, before she swallowed and tried again. “I don’t… how can you do this?”

“… I don’t know either,” Max admitted. “It just happened, the day that Chloe died.”

“The day she…” Taylor lost her voice. “When Nathan… in the bathroom? Back at Blackwell?”

Max nodded. “But… I saved her. I stopped Nathan.”

“No you didn’t.”

“I did the first time.”

Steph looked up. “… the first time?”

Max took a slow breath, before she started to explain.

* * *

“… and you’re sure she actually died.”

“Yes.” Max nodded in response to Taylor’s question. “I am.”

“Because that girl in your dreams told you so.”

Max nodded again.

Taylor exhaled slowly, as she ran her hands through her hair. She’d migrated to the couch, beside Steph, and had spent the last hour listening to Max’s story, interrupted only by the UberEats driver finally delivering dinner. “Fuck,” she breathed.

“Yea.”

“And now a storm’s going to come and kill everyone in Seattle.”

“Unless I figure out how to stop it… yea.”

Taylor looked back up at her. “Can you? Stop it?”

“… I don’t know.” Max looked at her feet. “I’m working on it.”

“Oh my God.” Taylor’s breathing quickened. “Oh, God, this is crazy. This is fucking crazy.”

“I’m not-”

“And you’re telling us all this, and showing off your magic tricks, to get us to leave town?”

Max nodded. “It’s… you guys will be a lot safer if you-”

“What about the others?”

“The others?”

“Everyone else in the city.” Taylor rubbed her hands together. “What about your coworkers? The people working at your rehab center?” Her eyes flicked to Victoria, who had taken her own seat by the kitchen table. “Or the addicts in your NA group? All the people who work for your parents? Or YOUR parents?” she asked, looking back at Max.

“My parents are already out of town,” Victoria said quietly. “And… someone’s going to call her folks tomorrow, to tell them that we were in a car accident in Portland, so they’ll-”

“Great! Good for you two! What about MY parents?!” Taylor demanded. “They live in Redmond! Or HER parents in Medina?!” she jerked her head at Steph, who’d barely spoken since she sat down. “My brother’s at WSU! Hers is home with his wife and kid! What about all of them?!”

Victoria bit her lip. “… we don’t know what to do for them.”

“How about trying to get them out of town too?!”

“And how are we supposed to do that?! Just tell them that my wife says a storm is coming and hope they don’t think we’re crazy?!”

Taylor had an extremely conflicted facial expression. “… FUCK!!” she finally snapped, dropping her head into her hands.

“I’m trying to figure out how to stop it,” Max offered contritely.

“So what?!” Taylor looked back at her. “I’m supposed to wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up faster?!”

“Hey!” Victoria objected. “Max is TRYING, Taylor!”

“Then what’s your plan?” Taylor stood, folding her arms. “What are you doing, right now, to stop this storm from turning Seattle into a garbage heap?”

Max took a breath. “The girl… Maxine said I need to find someone named Tahira,” she explained. “And ask about her mother.”

“Then what?!”

“… I don’t know.”

“Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. The blind leading the blind in a fucking demolition derby, that’s what this is right now.” Taylor looked away, taking fast breaths, before she looked back at Max. “No. No, fuck this. This is crazy. You’re full of shit.”

“Taylor, I’m not-”

“You are full of SHIT,” Taylor emphasized, pointing at Max. “I don’t know what kind of David Copperfield crap you were pulling before, but I KNOW it was some sort of fucking magic trick. You’re messing with our heads for some fucking demented laugh, and I’m SO fucking over it.”

Max was at a loss for words, as she gathered herself to retort. “Taylor, I-”

“Humpbacks.”

Everyone did a double-take at the first word Steph had spoken in almost an hour, so quietly they almost hadn’t heard her. “… huh?” Victoria asked.

Steph pointed at the TV, which was still on a muted news channel. Everyone turned to see a live broadcast of a pretty blonde reporter, standing on a beach while talking into her microphone.

And behind her were dead humpback whales. Almost a dozen, just in the frame, going into the distance behind her for almost a mile.

Victoria stepped over to the coffee table, grabbing the remote and turning the volume on. “- _has just arrived on the scene to begin investigating,_ ” the reporter was saying. “ _In the meantime, the beaches have been closed to all civilian visitors, pending test results._ ”

“ _What exactly are they testing for?_ ” the anchor asked, as the TV screen split to show him back in the studio.

“ _They’re running a multitude of tests on the water and on samples they’re collecting from the carcasses, but they won’t rule anything out. The Fish and Wildlife agent we spoke to seemed to think the most likely cause was some kind of chemical poisoning._ ” The reporter paused. “ _But he was also completely mystified as to how they all arrived at this stretch of the beach, Liam._ ”

“ _Why is that?_ ”

“ _He told us that humpback whales in these numbers haven’t been seen in the Puget Sound for over fifty years. For them to all be here at once, and beach themselves within a span of forty-five minutes, is absolutely unheard of._ ”

“ _What kind of numbers are we looking at here, Beth?_ ”

“ _Ten minutes ago, the count was at nine whales, Liam. But we’re getting unconfirmed reports of more carcasses on the Bainbridge and Vashon Islands._ ” She gestured to her right, towards the water. “ _The Fish and Wildlife department is asking that anyone who finds a carcass not go near it, as a precaution against-_ ”

Victoria hit the button to re-mute the TV. The silence that filled the apartment was deafening.

Taylor was the first to speak, in a voice shaking with fear. “You said that would happen today.”

“I know.”

“There really is a storm coming.”

“Yea.”

“… fuck.”


End file.
